


A Promise of a Better End

by RedHouden (Corveille)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alive Marco Bott, Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Female Titan Arc, Post-Trost Arc, Titan Jean Kirstein, Titan Shifters, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-13 21:02:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17495321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corveille/pseuds/RedHouden
Summary: Knowing he should’ve been looking at the beast in front of him instead of losing consciousness, he tried to stare back at the Titan. When he caught the proximity of its teeth however, they were all he could really pay attention to.Being rather sharp and pointy, not quite as big or round as he had often seen in the other beasts, Marco was ashamed to admit he let out a girly squeal when he was brought near the Titan’s mouth.Those teeth would soon chop him in half.





	A Promise of a Better End

**Author's Note:**

> Coming in way too late but...this is basically a "what if" where Jean was the one to die in Trost instead of Marco, but he also ended up as a Titan shifter. 
> 
> (I'm not a native English speaker, please tell me if you find some mistakes).

The ringing of the bell alerted the townspeople about the beginning of a new expedition.

 Over a hundred members of the Scouting Legion had gathered on the streets in front one of the entrances of Wall Rose. A few curious citizens were currently looking expectant from behind the safety of their doors or windows. Kids were even using stacks of boxes to see all the soldiers better, some still ignorant to what was about to happen to them once outside.

Contrary to all the days previous to the expedition, where the weather had been cold or gloomy at best, today was showing to be extremely hot. There were limited clouds in the sky that could shield the troops from the burning rays of sunlight.

One particularly tall boy with olive skin covered in freckles and evenly parted, dark hair let out a deep sigh as he felt the merciless heat on him.

He moved to pet his horse’s mane.

The black mare gave a loud neigh in reply, tossing her head back to indicate she appreciated the gesture and wanted even more affection. The reaction made a chuckle escape from the young boy’s mouth but he complied with her demands.

 Supposedly this’d be a simple excursion to gain new Intel on the Titans—maybe capture one if the chance presented itself— and help less experienced soldiers improve their skills on the battle field.

… or so he’d been told.

 It’d also be the first expedition he’d be part of since the Female Titan incident.

It was hard to believe three months had gone by since then. He knew he should be happy, since the capturing of the female Titan had made more people want to join his Regimen in hopes of getting their share of glory. But honestly all he could think of was how Annie, someone he’d once called a friend, had been the one to betray them. She had been there when the invasion of Trost took place, helping them fight against Titans. She had saved lots of soldiers that day, but also killed so many afterwards…

The flecked soldier let out another sigh, shorter this time. There was no point in mulling over the past at this point. What was done was done and... he’d rather not remember Trost again, it was far from a fond memory.

“Hey Marco, are you feeling alright?” Right next to him, a much shorter boy with bright blonde hair, deep blue eyes and a child-like face was looking at him with concern and a hint of curiosity.

Marco couldn’t help but smile at the sight of that. Armin Arlert, they had been friends back in their training days, helping each other with the assemblage of their maneuver gear. After the 57th expedition however, they became something close to best friends, often seeking each other to discuss strategies over a game of chess.

“Yes I’m fine Armin just… thinking about what we’ll find out there this time.”

 A soldier that was close to the duo, maneuvered his horse around to face them.

 “Well more Titans for one, like it’d be a surprise at this point,” the hazelnut haired guy muttered the last part under his breath, “and maybe…something else.”

“What do you mean by that?” Armin asked firmly.

 Said boy smirked, as if he was counting on their ignorance just so he could blabber about the news before they had to leave the safety of the walls.

 

  _Sixty seconds until we open the gate!_

 

“You didn’t hear this from me but there have been some sights of strange behavior coming from Titans that get close to the wall. Members of the Squads that patrol there regularly told one of my friends this. I bet is the sole reason for this mission.”

“Strange behavior? Aren’t we talking about abnormal then?” Marco asked a little confuse since all Titans that acted outside of what was considered “the norm” were usually put into the abnormal category.

 “That’s what the Scouts thought at first. The thing is…” the guy waved Marco and Armin to move forward, his voice a mere whisper, “…they’d linger around the perimeter of the forest, never getting any closer to the wall. Even when the rest of the squad got all together in one spot to get a better look they never left that place, just stood there watching by the trees, creepy right?” Indeed, Marco could say it was but a more fitting word would be…well, _odd_.

What could possibly keep those Titans from coming right to where they knew their food was located?

“It’s almost as if they were afraid or something.”

Yes, but afraid of what exactly? There weren’t many things outside the walls that could intimidate a near twenty meters’ tall monster to begin with.

“Must be one of the reasons why Hange is coming with us. She usually likes to lock herself up in her study to work on her research.” Armin conceded.

“Seems to be.”

So that’s why she’d been so eager this morning well, more eager than natural in Hange’s case. She wanted to see if she could get a good look at these anomalies or maybe—Rose had mercy on them—take one back to the base. Marco would never understand how anyone could have such a fascination with those hideous creatures, but to each their own he guessed.

 

  _Get Ready!_

 

The conversation ended abruptly as the trio reassumed their respective positions.

A look of determination crossed Marco’s features and the grip on his reigns tightened, squeezing the already worn out leather.

“Today we take another step in the name of Humanity!  Prove to me how brave and dedicated every single one of you is. Be prepared for anything once we go beyond the walls, OPEN THE GATES!”

Shoulders tensed and teeth gritted, the regiment mentally prepared themselves for what was next to come. Once the gate ceased it’s ascend and a clear view of the outside land greeted them, Commander Erwin gave his orders.

 

 _Advance_!

 

And with that single word, all the horses along with their respective rider moved onwards. As they passed the entrance, they were first met with the ruins of a raided town.

Abandoned houses alongside broken roads and destroyed carts could be seen everywhere but, to the surprise of many, not a single Titan showed up. The view of bright blue sky and a vast green meadow welcomed them next.

Marco snapped the reins repeatedly, urging her mare to gain more and more speed. Behind him Armin and other fellow soldiers followed his every move. Soon they’d divide in different groups of three up to five people to cover more ground. Marco would stand-in as the leader of his squad.

The Commander lifted one of his arms up and gave his next order. “Get into the scout formation!” From his position Marco could catch glimpses of black spiky hair, tan skin and intent look, no doubt it was Eren. His vivid green eyes met Marco’s light brown ones.

“Don’t you dare die out there Marco, Armin!” The hot tempered teen shouted loudly right as he moved towards his new location.

 _Right back at you Eren,_ Marco smile quickly morphed back into a frown. A total of five squads, Marco’s being one of them, were told to head west.

Marco coaxed his mare to give a few strides so he’d be in front of the other four members of his small group, ready to give orders if needed. The pounding of the hooves rattled Marco’s bones but he didn’t think about how the saddle was hurting his lower backside. Instead, he tried to stay alert to every movement, every sound.

 

**“TITAN!”**

 

 Turning his head to his left, Marco saw a six-meter class clumsily making its way through the scarce foliage.

 “Armin, the flare gun,” within seconds a trail of red smoke made its way up into the sky followed by many others. Marco leaded his team to the right, away from the man-eating giant pursuing them. They were quick to lose it, the movements too sluggish to properly keep up with the trained horses.

Roughly ten minutes went by when another Titan showed up, this time standing some distance ahead of them.

It was bigger than the previous one, a thirteen-meter class at best. Its body was twisted in an awkward and almost unnatural posse. Once the soldiers got close enough they realized why, the Titan was preparing to run in all fours. Its neck was crooked and bent downward, to the point to where the Titan’s face was looking upside down at the team. The big grin only added to its creepiness. Letting out a sound that reassembled a distorted laugh the Titan charged at the group of humans, much like an insect would.

Marco knew there was no time to hesitate.

“DISPERSE NOW!” He shouted out while moving his mare out of the abnormal path. It missed him by a meter or so.

The others weren’t all that lucky.

While most of the group dodged the incoming attack, the Titan headed straight to one of the girls that have been in the center of the small formation.

 It closed its enormous flat teeth around her slender form and pulled up, tossing the stallion brutally out of the way in the process. On impact, the poor animal gave one last neigh before going completely still. Its human companion remained screaming and trashing around until the beast got hold of her legs and arms and tore her apart, piece by piece.

Bright red stained the grass below.

The soldiers would have watched the scene unfold in horror, had it not been for the horses galloping away from there as fast as they possibly could. It had taken that monster just a blink of an eye to kill one of them. Marco couldn’t even mourn the lost appropriately.

He didn’t remember her name. He had never spoken to her, not even once.

It hadn’t even been twenty minutes since the expedition started. How long until all of them were gone?

“Armin, give the signal. We are dealing with an abnormal over here. All of you keep going and don’t look back!”

People usually praised Marco for his quick thinking and ability to stay under stressful situations. It helped others stay composed in even the worst case scenarios, they said, but those attributes alone didn’t make a good leader. It was not within his capabilities to judge which course of action would be best, or plan that far ahead in the future.

He was merely improvising at this point.

 _With any luck that abnormal will get distract by its kill and let us be,_ he hated the way his mind was thinking but it was only rational to come to that conclusion. Cold perhaps, but not impossible.

Using the dead of your comrades to your advantage? Reminded him of a certain someone. It seemed almost bizarre that the same was happening to him now. Maybe it was some deity above that was playing a cruel joke on him, maybe it was just how fate worked.

The thirteen-meter class swallowed the remains of the corpse and set its dulled eyes on the squad once more. Apparently one person wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the creature’s appetite. Marco shook his brain to come up with a plan while a boy—Fritz, his name was Fritz— yelled at the others to be careful.

The thing was too fast to outrun via horses. It’d catch up the moment the animals grew tired and they could not just keep riding and hope for a miracle.

 “Marco look, over there.” Armin pointed to a set of tall trees next to a worn-out barn, a perfect scenario to use their maneuver gears. Looks like small blonde had been thinking the same as him.

“Head to the trees, we’re taking him down there!” This was met with a load of protests, someone even called him crazy for thinking they could take on such a monster.

“Listen, we can’t get away from it, you had seen the way it moves, so there no choice left but to fight for now. If it looks like we cannot win then, then at least we’ll be out of its reach until help comes here. Understood?” They did, couldn’t argue against that logic.

The Titan moved swiftly on the uneven field as the humans got their 3DMG at the ready. Once they were within good distance of the barn, one by one the soldiers jumped out of their horses.

Marco propelled himself forward to reach a higher branch of a tree that appeared sturdy enough to support his weight and watched the Titan’s movements. The giant looked unsure about what to do as the team flew around it.

 Now that it was confused, it was the perfect time for an attack.

Marco drew the blades from their respective holsters and shot one of the grapple hooks at the beast. Pressing at the triggers to let out a huge blast of gas, he gained the speed necessary to make a long, deep cut on its ankle.

Marco quickly changed his trajectory so that the Titan wouldn’t take a chunk out of him. Another girl did the same cut to its left wrist while letting out a furious battle cry. Although not as deep as the one he had made, it was enough to deter the Titan’s progress.The dumb thing lost its balance and fell to the ground with an earth-shaking crash. It made no move to get up.

Thinking this was his chance, Fritz flew towards the Titan with full force, blades set and ready.

“Wait! Don’t rush in on your own!” The warning fell on deaf ears. The Titan’s arm jumped up to meet the naïve soldier and its body turned around to lay on its back. Fritz let out a cry of pain and moved his swords around to reach for a weak spot as the aberrant brought him to its mouth. Marco was about to fly up there and help the young boy when a powerful roar resonated through the forest, one that shook all the remaining humans to the core.

_Can’t be…Eren?_

Marco quickly dismissed the idea. Eren was way in the back of the formation, there was no way it could have reached them that fast even in his titan form, which meant...

“Another Titan is coming!” A member of his squad screamed. He wasn’t sure which one.

 _Of all of the times this could happen it had to be now?!_ Marco wondered how they could have so many Titans in a row.

They weren’t even that close to the front ranks.

Right there in the distance a sixteen, hell maybe a seventeen-meter class was approaching. Not walking but rather jogging right to where they stood. A piercing shriek snapped Marco out of his stupor. While the team had been distracted by the new threat coming their way, the fallen Titan had managed to bite into Fritz’s lower half. The initial shock caused by the excruciating agony wore off his body and he began to scream for help frantically, as he saw how his own blood poured from his uniform onto the ground.

 Marco grew even more anxious than he already was. He needed to think of something and fast or else the lives of his friends would go out like candle flames.

  _What would he do if he were in my place?_ The young man repeated in his mind. W _hat would Jean do? Think Marco think_.

 “Ailey, Armin you go and distract the new Titan whichever way you can. I’ll go save Fritz!” He hoped against all hope he knew what he was doing. The two shorter soldiers were quick to obey. Meanwhile Marco launched himself away from the safety of the tree and got around the aberrant who didn’t even notice his presence, but Fritz sure did. Marco was able to mouth a “hang in there” before he got out of the soldier’s line of vision. With a twist of his own body, he got behind the creature.

Seeing a clean shot at the back of its neck, he embedded his set of blades into the thing’s nape. The Titan fell backwards, this time without the possibility of ever getting up again. Its body began to deteriorate, leaving thin veils of smoke that clouded Marco’s vision as everything but the bones evaporated into the air.

“Fritz!” Marco needed to make sure the kid was alright, or at least alive.

“I…I can’t feel my legs,” the poor guy muttered in a quiet tone, voice trembling slightly. He was losing a lot of blood, half of his body was still inside the corpse’s mouth. Marco immediately hooked his arms under the injured soldier’s armpits and dragged him out of it.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you back home. You need to see your family right? You can’t leave them yet.” By the looks of it, the boy was completely paralyzed from waist down. This made thing ten times worst.

Marco couldn’t move him around like this for risk of aggravating his injuries. They didn’t know if the support teams were coming this way or were dealing with Titans as well. Still, he did his best to whisper reassuring words to the distressed soldier, doing his best to calm him from the panic attack he was surely having.

“Marco!” Armin appeared in front of the two boys, looking unnerved and out of breath. The blonde unclipped his green cape and let it rest on top of Fritz’s abdomen, wrapping it around the wounds to apply pressure.

 _Of course stupid, so stupid,_ Marco reprimanded himself. He should have done that right away.

“Need to get out of here the Titan, is another abnormal I think,” just what they needed. “It won’t let us get close to its nape… Ailey, she asked for your help,” the taller boy turned his head upwards to see what exactly was going on a few meters away from them.

Ailey was moving madly around the enormous body as the new Titan swatted its hand at her, like it was trying to kill a pesky mosquito. It finally managed to send her flying right into the hard wood of a tree trunk. Without a sound, she slammed onto one of the branches and laid there, seemly unconscious.

The seventeen-meter class was looking down at her now.

Marco got to his feet after seeing that, the same resolve he felt back at the entrance of Wall Rose serving as his fuel. He refused to let any more people die under his watch. He was the most skilled out of the four so it’ll be his duty to get this Titan away from his group. If risking his life could help save three young soldiers, then Marco would be more than glad to act as bait.

“Armin I’m leaving Fritz in your hands!” He yelled as the grip of his handles tightened considerably and the hooks got secured to the barn. The gear let out a big burst of gas that boosted his whole body right to where the titan face was.

Making sure that his aim was good Marco struck, swords going straight into the Giant’s temple. He pushed with his arms just a bit more to make sure the blades would stay put and released them from the handles. The tremendous beast let out an ear shattering roar as Marco set off to find a place to land. The sound was not as low as Eren’s and yet, not as high pitched as Annie’s either but something in between Marco noticed. The aberrant trashed its head around wildly to get the weapons off.

 Once they both did, it settled its gaze on the one who had dared to hurt it.

 “Yeah, see me?” The dark haired teen shoved his arms up and down in the air to grab its attention.

“Come here and _get_ me!”

Marco could have sworn, at that moment, that the Titan glowered at him. However, seeing as the creature was now targeting him, there wasn’t much his brain could think of other than getting the hell away from the titan’s close vicinity.

 Running at its top speed the Titan gave chase, looking surprisingly hell-bent on catching Marco. If his life hadn’t been in great danger, he’d have found it almost funny.

Who knew a Titan could be so vengeful?

The freckled boy gave a quick glance to where Armin was. The blonde had successfully moved Fritz away from the Titan’s skinny, almost nonexistence chest and the two were currently lying in the open, gear probably out of commission. If the aberrant labeled them as food, there was no way they could both escape it.

He had to keep it away, as far away as he could.

 He felt guilty for leaving Armin to take care of not only a fatal injured person but also an unconscious, possibly concussed girl all on his own but he was sure that the short man would find it in his heart to forgive him, if he ever came out of this alive.

Marco swung from branch to branch with high precision, all to avoid the creature rapidly following behind. The seventeen-meter class on its part had succeeded in reducing the distance between them, in such a short period of time, it was practically on his heels now.

He was aware that the abnormal types tended to be quicker and stronger that the average Titan but he’d underestimated the speed of this one. Unlike the erratic or slow movements he'd learned to be ready for, this Titan’s were defined and agile. If the situation kept up like this, he’d run out of gas or an object to use his hooks on.

 

 _Looks like I won’t fulfill that wish in the end Eren,_ Marco thought sourly.

 

 At one point he felt the breeze created by the huge fingers as they brushed past his green cloak. He tried not to panic too much after that but it proved to be a difficult task, given that his gear was progressively slowing down.

 The whistle made by the gas came to a sudden stop just as he was changing course in midair. The speckled boy lost his stability and the hooks failed to lodge themselves into the trunk of a nearby tree.

Fear settled deep in Marco’s heart.

He’d thought he could make it out of the woods with his limited amount of gas but alas, he had been proven wrong. A simple miscalculation was going to be the cause of his demise.

As he was getting closer to what would surely be a painful and bone-breaking land, a gigantic hand halted his descent. The pure shock of coming in contact with hot flesh made Marco lose the hold he had in one of the handles. Fingers devoid of any skin wrapped around his lower abdomen, his legs and rendered him immobile.

Horrified by the only outcome he knew being in this position would lead to, Marco tried to separate the fingers trapping him. The Titan dragged him towards its face, limb twisting around so that the human would be able to see into the eyes of what’d soon be his death.

In a last effort to get free Marco stabbed his remaining sword into the Titan’s knuckles, hoping the pain would be enough to coerce the Titan into opening its hand. The abnormal evidently didn’t like the rough treatment and made that sentiment clear by tightening the grip it had on Marco, making it harder for the human to breathe.

 _Okay bad idea, very bad idea._ He shout internally as his lungs tried to work properly.

Knowing he should’ve been looking at the beast in front of him instead of losing consciousness, he tried to stare back at the Titan. When he caught the proximity of its teeth however, they were all he could really pay attention to.

Being rather sharp and pointy, not quite as big or round as he had often seen in the other beasts, Marco was ashamed to admit he let out a girly squeal when he was brought near the Titan’s mouth.

Those teeth would soon chop him in half.

He knew very well that the lives of those who decided to join the military weren’t long or prosper ones. He’d always been prepared to die but that didn’t mean he wasn’t terrified by the concept or that he wanted to pass away while being so young.

_I wonder if things would have turned out the same with you on the lead though. I always said you were fit to be a leader._

It’d have involved a lot of screaming and cursing he was sure of it. He knew that thinking about the past when he was about to get eaten was a stupid thing to do but he figured he could allow himself these last moments to have something nice to remember, before the lights went out on him.

 The second he was –quite literally– yanked back to reality however, he was met with a big open maw. Trails of saliva serving as the only connection between the upper and lower jaw.

All the serenity Marco had built up until that moment vanished. His arms shook with tremors whereas his torso became stiff as a board, breathing fast and irregular. He closed his eyes shut and let out a scream, a scream so long and loud it managed to hurt his vocal choirs. The sound got cut short though, when he heard the swift movement of fierce jaws clamping down together.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

People in his town used to say that when you get a fatal injury your brain does not registers the pain right away. It usually takes a minute for the sensation to kick in.

Yet as Marco stood there, completely still, he felt his own heart beating wildly inside his ribcage. He felt warm air blowing through his hair and clothes and the pressure still around his midriff, but not a single sign of tremendous pain.

Puzzled as to why dead had not claim him, the freckled boy slowly allowed his eyes to open just to regret that decision instantly. The same jagged teeth — far too white for a creature who solemnly feed on human flesh now that he thought of it— stood centimeters away from his nose.

What followed was, of course, an appropriate reaction.

A high pitched yelp escaped Marco’s lips. He craned his neck back to create some space between him and the chopping tools.

 “Wh- Wha-?” He stuttered astonished between chocked breaths. Why was this Titan…not eating him? Was it going to toy with him before killing him? Oh gods he hoped not, between quick death and torture he’d _always_ go with the former. The abnormal moved Marco away from its mouth and blazing amber looked directly at the human in what could be described as an angry glare.

 “Umm hey? Its… k-kind of…hard to breathe in-in here.” Marco was at lost as to what he was supposed to do so, on mere impulse, he said the first words that came to mind. And while low rumble was all the verbal reply Marco got in return, the Titan did ease the grip around his frame the littlest bit.

Marco took a long, deep breath the instant he felt the restricted embrace leave his chest, slowly but surely he forced his breathing to go back to normal.

He couldn’t believe his eyes; this Titan had listened to him and it looked like it…wasn’t interested in biting him anymore? Not that he was complaining but, _why_ had this Titan decided to study him rather than squish all his organs? It’s what a normal Titan would do, what this one _should_ do.

It just didn’t make any sense.

Now that he wasn’t on the verge of fainting anymore, Marco took this time to really look at the beast in front of him. It body was one of a male, lean and with all the correct proportions. No presence of the usual skinny and decaying limbs or swollen abdomen. Contrary to the sardonic smile that Titans often portrayed, this one had its mouth set in a permanent scowl.

The lips, although a little chapped, were intact. The cheeks on either side though were the complete opposite, having bits of shredded skin. As if they had been stretched beyond repair, It kind of gave the impression that those thin strands were the only thing keeping both jaws tightly together. The lack of skin could also be found under its eyelids and right where the forearm and knees began, all the way down to the toes and fingers where white ligaments fused around exposed muscles.

 Marco swore that its eyes, the same that were now glaring at him, shown some level of intelligence inside them. They were almost familiar, although Marco couldn’t really place from where, exactly.

Looking up, he was met with a mass of grey hair? He wasn’t really sure since most of it was hidden behind shadows casted by the canopy of trees.

  _Definitely a weird one but could it really be…someone like Eren?_ It was worth a shot to ask, just to be sure.

“Umm he-hello? Is anyone inside there?” No response. “Can you even understand me?” Maybe, it was just a new type of Titan Marco had the bad luck to encounter. Hange would certainly have an aneurism if that were to be the case.

A gush of steam came out of the titan’s mouth and the thumb from the hand around him repositioned itself on top of his head, causing Marco’s mind to short-circuit. He couldn’t help but think the giant had finally grown tired of all his bickering and was going to squish him like a bug.

What happened next was a completely different story, but such as bizarre.

Said thumb moved through Marco’s hair in a circular motion at first, with far more gentleness than the soldier would’ve ever expected. Moving closer to his forehead after each twirl, it gradually travelled down toward his face.

Taking especial interest in Marco’s cheeks, the Titan started to caress the skin in one side slowly, in a somewhat careful manner. Once satisfied the beast then switched to the other side, only to repeat the same action. Although not quiet hurting him, the movement was putting a great amount of stress in Marco’s neck and upper back.

In his shock, he remained as solid as a brick wall during this whole ordeal. He was _pretty_ _sure_ that Titans never did things like this on regular basis. What was it even trying to accomplish by rubbing at his cheeks?

 After a more than forceful stroke sent his head backwards, annoyance overruled his fear of death for a second. Just as the finger was about to go down to his neck, he tossed the appendage away and scoffed in frustration.

 “Stop, the freckles don’t come off.” Thankfully, the abnormal listened this time though a snarl formed on its face. “Put me down! If you are not going to make a meal out of me at least let me leave, please.” Unbelievable, the freckly teen was never one to raise his voice and get upset so quickly but this Titan was just so… so uncanny in its actions.

He hadn’t had to use that tone since back in his Trainee Corps days when Jean would constantly try to count the number of freckles he had on his body, all with the excuse that he was bored out of his mind. Because of his weak-willed attitude Marco would let him do it, only sometimes.

It was almost like a bad habit really. He’d always started with the ones on Marco’s right check too before continuing on with the left ones and after, he’d move to his collarbone just like… Marco’s expression changed into one of alarm as a ridiculous thought entered his mind.

 

_Just like this Titan… was doing minutes ago but…._

 

No.

No, no this wasn’t happening.

 

_…It can’t be. It is not possible for him to be… he’s dead, no more than ashes and charred bones, he's...  
_

 

He had hit his head with something on his way down and was dreaming all this or maybe he was losing his mind due to the terror of being eaten alive.

 It was true some individuals could shift into Titans, Eren and Annie were solid proof of that fact, but to think that… it was delusional to even consider that this Titan could ever be his _deceased_ best friend. People just didn’t come back from the grave. It had tried to eat him for god’s sake like any other mindless monster here but……if he _really_ thought about it.

Marco had been at its mercy but, for some reason, the aberrant had stopped at the last second. Not to mention it hadn’t tried to do the same thing again since then and the opportunity had never left. It’s not like he, a mere ant in comparison, could do something about it.

No, this was all the Titan’s doing.

 Marco took a second glance at its eyes. Now that he saw them more closely they did resembled Jean’s, both in color and shape, but that wasn’t enough to guarantee that this Titan was indeed him. Though Mikasa had also had trouble with Eren remainding focused while in Titan form once too.

 The aberrant holding him adopted an aggressive stance: Head low, knees bended and free arm up in front of its chest, hand balled into a fist. Following his line of vision, Marco clearly found out why.

 A four-meters and a ten-meters class were both heading to their current location. Marco glanced nervously at the Titan besides him. Was this titan really Jean or he was just making a complete fool of himself? Would its seemingly calm behavior change now that there was more of its kind around? Another surprise, it relocated the arm that was holding Marco up and away from the two smaller Titans.

From this angle Marco was able to see its hair in much better light, what he saw was all the confirmation he needed. The top was indeed a mess of ashen strands while the roots down on each side showed more of a darker tone in them. The same undercut style, the one that could only belong to Jean.

There was no mistake about it.

Marco chocked out his name, a name he hadn’t uttered out loud in a long time, in utter disbelief. He tried to stretch his hand and let it rest on the Titan’s face but it was too far away from him.

“Jean, Jean…is it really you?” But the abnormal didn’t pay any mind to the question; his attention focused solemnly on the intruders.

When the four-meter class was close enough he raised one of his legs backward and gave a sharp but powerful kick, getting rid of the relatively tiny titan in mere seconds. Its body crashed against some rocks pretty far away from them. Next, the ten-meter class got punched right in the face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Marco caught glimpses of movement coming from behind them. He didn’t need to be a genius to know what it was.

 A fourteen-meter class had spotted the two—or most likely Marco if the way its eyes were set on the human was any indication—and was coming this way. The boy turned his head back to the aberrant trying to fling off the ten-meter class struggling to bite his forearm off, he hadn’t notice the new one.

“Jean!” Marco yelled as he watched how the fourteen meters got closer. Hands held in front of him with its palm up and mouth twisted in a lopsided grin.

 

“JEAN!” But it was no use. It was coming in one ear and exiting through the other.

 

 When the hungry beast was almost on them, dread washed over Marco like heavy rain. There just had to be a trick to make Jean react, but how could Marco get him to pay attention if he was not even responding to his own name?

Eyes widening, an idea popped up in his head.

Oh Jean would certainly not like this, not at all, and he’d probably get mad at him for even thinking it but…. Marco didn’t see any other alternative.

If this worked, it would help him confirm the possibility of Jean being a Titan even further and he wouldn’t become food, a win/win situation. Taking a big gulp of air, Marco got his hands around his mouth and shouted with all his might to the abnormal.

 

“HEY _HORSEFACE_!”

 

The reaction was immediate. Jean all but forgot about the ten meters tearing at his limb and set his eyes on Marco for a second, before turning them to look at the other mindless Titan, ready to strike at the hand with the soldier. Marco was able to hear a throaty growl coming from Jean as he swung the Titan biting his arm around, shoving it right at the taller giant. That sent them both rolling and stumbling down to earth. And, while the attack did put the bigger Titan out of commission for the time being, the smaller one quickly got back on its feet.

 Now because of the inability to use a lot of the muscles on their faces, Titans would typically stick to one distinct expression which, more often than not, was either a wicked smile or a sinister grin. What Marco saw when the Titan looked at them, was one of pure fury. It charged at Jean, letting out a piercing wail like an enraged, wild animal.

Closing his free hand into a tight fist, the two-tone haired abnormal punched the screaming Titan in its mouth, the force being big enough to behead the beast in that single powerful hit. When its body tumbled to the ground Jean was quick to squash its neck with his foot, sentencing its death.

Marco was about to open his lips again when, with yet another deafening roar, he found himself in front of Jean’s face in seconds. Steam washed over his face and sweat began to form on his forehead because of the sudden heat. Narrowed eyes greeted him, mostly in waiting for an excuse not to crush him too.

 “Sorry buddy, it was all I could come up with,” Marco said between coughs, patting Jean’s nose in what he trusted was a soothing manner. The grumble he received was a pretty clear "never do that again", as if Marco needed more hints after that.

The bite marks on Jean’s forearm were already healing quite nicely but they were not out of danger’s way yet.

The commotion had attracted a lot of titans to the area. Some of them were pretty close to Jean in height. The fourteen-meter class from before for example was among them, still wearing the same grin on its disfigured face. They were far too many for Jean to fight on his own not to mention, having the extra need to protect a little human, fending all of them off would be close to impossible.

Marco didn’t want this fight to happen. If one of taller ones got a bite out of his nape...

The titans were surrounding them now. He had gotten his best friend back and he couldn’t afford to lose him again so soon.

“Jean, get away from here okay? Just…just put me on a higher spot and I’ll grab their attention while you sneak out, I’ll be okay.” Perhaps he would survive if he got out of their reach, probably. When he looked up, Jean was wearing an odd expression on his face as if confused by what Marco was proposing.

After surveying the area with a quick glance Jean made eye contact with Marco briefly and, with his free hand, pinched the green fabric of Marco’s uniform between his thumb and index finger. The Titan was watching no, staring at Marco with such intensity, it made him swallow loudly with apprehension.

 “What are you doing?” Jean lifted the worried boy up until he was dangling on top of his mouth, lips pulled back to show rows of teeth again.

“Je-Jean? Wa-wait Jean no, no… DON’T!” The Titan lowered Marco, tongue out and ready to receive him. Marco grabbed at the fingers, nails clawing as he pleaded for his friend to listen, to explain what was going on.

 Had this Titan been playing with him all along? No there were too many coincidences for it not to be Jean but then, why he was doing this now? In his panicked state, Marco failed to realize that he wasn’t falling on top of the tongue but rather underneath it. The Titan pushed him inside and began to close its mouth in front of him, bit by bit. Marco scratched at the back of the teeth with his hands, desperate to get out but of course, it didn’t make much of a difference.

 Jean took off running.

 Marco’s body went up and down every time Jean’s feet came in contact with the ground. Confined in this small space, saliva covered every inch of his uniform. He wanted to gag at how sticky and gross that made him feel.

At least Jean's breath wasn’t foul.

He noticed he wasn’t being swallowed, or chew on. He also couldn’t hear any heavy thumping other that Jean’s, which meant they weren’t being followed. How clever, Marco guessed. The rest wouldn't pursue them if there was no human in sight.

Good, though Marco could really do without this part of the plan.

* * *

 

 

After what felt like hours but probably weren’t more than minutes in reality, Jean came to a stop. Marco felt the tongue raise and leave his back. Seconds later he was spitted onto waiting cupped hands that dropped him gently on a large rock by Jean’s side. Goosebumps ran through Marco’s back as he took his green cape and brown jacket off his uniform, drenched in Titan’s saliva. Brushing his palms against his face to get rid of the excess of spit, he pointed a finger at Jean threateningly.

“Don’t you ever. Do that. _Again_.” He pointed each word with a shook of his index finger. Jean’s response was to sneer lightly as if to say “like your idea was any better” and sit down on the grass cross-legged style, with hands pressed on his knees.

 

 “At the very least, warn me next time.” Marco finished awkwardly with a sigh.

 

The sound of a grumble made Marco turned to his companion. The young soldier was racked with guilt when he saw how one of his blade was still embedded in the middle of Jean’s hand.

 “Oh God Jean! Bring your hand here,” Marco ordered him while making gestures to indicate for the correct hand. Bemused but nonetheless obedient, Jean got his right hand on top of the rock. When Marco tried to touch the handle however, he flinched away and emitted a guttered growl.

“Come on. I’d have never done this if I had known it was you, believe me.”

 Very slowly, Jean put his hand back down and Marco gripped firmly at the end of the handle. “Okay, this might hurt a bit.” He warned and carefully tried to remove the object from the steaming flesh, he didn’t want it to get broken in the process. Jean grinded his teeth together but otherwise remained totally still. The sword came out easily as clouds of smoke rosed to heal the wound. Jean flickered some of his blood to stain Marco’s white shirt as revenge, but no lasting damage came to the clothes because of its quick evaporation rate.

It didn’t stop Marco from letting out a sound of disgust at the sight.

"Eugh, Jean quit being such a child!" Jean merely shoved Marco away with a flick of a finger, causing the dark haired teen to fall on his back with more force than necessary. A sharp pain spread throughout his spine and Marco was positive a bruise would form within the hour.

 At least there was some consolation in knowing this hadn’t been the giant’s intention, if the way he was poking Marco around and trying to get him to sit up was anything to go by.

 “You need to watch your own strength Jean, you’re so much bigger now,” he flashed a smile in the Titan’s general direction to assure he’d be fine.

“You’re finally taller than me,” he joked to light up the mood. Marco didn’t feel like getting up so he ignored his grumpy friend, opting to stare at the open sky instead. He hadn’t realized how drained of energy he had been up until this point.

He barely could move a muscle.  

By the position of the sun, he calculated it was a bit past noon, meaning two hours had passed since the beginning of the expedition, since his brain had become such a convoluted mess of emotions.

 So many things were flying through his mind, questions he wanted to ask but it was not like Jean could give him all the answers. But they were safe now so why exactly wasn’t Jean changing back? It should not be hard to get out, had never been a problem for Eren. Then again what if Jean was different? What if he was stuck? Marco didn’t know for how long Jean had remained in his Titan form out here, if there even was a time limit that could mess with the shifting ability.

 “Why had you not return to being human?” He blurted out nervously. Jean tilted his head but didn’t answer, not like Marco had expected him to. He tried again anyway.

“Can…do you even know how to do it? Don’t you want to tell me what… Jean just, what happened to you?” Asking would get him nowhere, he knew that now, but he couldn’t hold his composure any longer, not when all the memories were flowing back to him.

“I saw you, I s-saw your body lying lifeless against that house. I was the one who…who found you, a forgotten corpse on the streets and I…...” he wouldn’t cry, Marco told himself.

 He had done enough of that in the past.

“I wasn’t there to help you, y-you that watched my back when things got heated, I let you down. We were supposed to go to the military police together and I’m… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Jean.” A shadow fell over Marco and something blocked his line of vision.

A nose pressed against his torso and hands cupped behind his back to prevent him from losing balance again. Marco reflexivity closed his arms around the gigantic nose in an awkward yet, meaningful hug. Jean’s soft rumbles sent vibrations throughout his body, causing his legs to quiver, or maybe it was because of his own shaking. Marco honestly couldn’t tell anymore.

He’d done everything in his power to hold back the tears dancing on the edge of his eyelids but Jean being here, trying to comfort him on top of all, was the last straw that broke him. Tears rolled down Marco’s cheeks along with his sorrow and he apologized over and over again. Not only to Jean but to all the people Marco hadn’t been able to save, those who had died before and for him.

He tried to hide his crying by pressing his face on the bridge of Jean’s nose, pointless as that was. The Titan never moved from his spot and his rumbles continued, as Marco told him his insecurities, his fears. How he wasn’t a good leading figure and that Jean would’ve probably come up with better plans and strategies, would’ve protected more people.

Jean was patient enough to wait for the weeping to stop before removing his head from under Marco’s slack limbs. With a final chocked sob, Marco used the sleeve of his shirt to get rid of the dried tears and mucus.

“I’m o-okay buddy,” and that wasn’t a lie. He truly felt better after that emotional outburst. Maybe it’s what he'd needed all along, a shoulder to cry on.

 “Funny. You growl and bark most of the time but I know that deep down, you are a softie.” A snicker found his way out of Marco’s mouth once he saw Jean eyebrows furrowed, eyes half-lidded.

He was expecting a growl, but Jean twisted his head away from his little form and gaze back to where they’d come from. Eyes cold and decisive, Jean stood up without a sound. Marco was both surprise and more than confused when he saw his friend walking away from him, heading for the forest.

 A little panicked now, the soldier moved to the edge of the boulder and called out for the Titan to return.

  “Jean. Jean come on, don’t be that way! COME BACK. JEEAAN!” But either Jean hearing was completely awful or he was downright ignoring him. As he watched his shape got smaller and smaller, Marco gave up in trying calling him back. The Titan rounded a couple of trees…

 

And.

 

He was gone, well then.

 

This could present a huge problem for him actually, he was not going to lie. It was dangerous for people to be outside the walls even with a funtional maneuver gear on and here he was, empty of weapons.

 

On top on a rock.

 

In the middle of nowhere.

 

This day was getting better and better by the second.

 

Why would Jean go when Marco was pretty sure he knew these risks as well anyway? Had he heard something perhaps? He thought he saw a look of determination cross Jean’s face before he disappeared but maybe that was his imagination.

 As time passed, Marco became more accepting of the idea that Jean wasn’t going to come back for him.

He checked on his 3DMG.

Besides the obvious “no gas” problem, there was also the fact both his handles were gone now. The wires that usually kept them secured to the gear have been cut off when Jean had pretended to eat him earlier. When Marco tested his holsters he noted his spare blades were missing.

 There was no point in keeping what would only slow him down, he undid the leather belts around him and stripped out of them. The metal parts chirred loudly when they contacted with the stone, causing Marco to wince slightly.

With nothing else to do the soldier looked around, trying to orientate himself. After not finding anything familiar, he turned away from the direction Jean had run off to and froze. Right there in the distance, the sight of Wall Rose greeted him. Marco took a big intake of breath and laughed in disbelief.

 All this time and he had been this close to home. In all honesty, knowing that made him feel a little foolish. He could make it back to the others, assuming he was able to get on a horse of course. But surely there should be some galloping around here……maybe?

Had this been Jean plan all along? Leaving him as close to the Walls as he possibly could without risking his life, it sounded like something he’d do. Then again did that mean this was his goodbye and he wouldn’t be seen again?

Marco stopped his mind from going there and brought both hands to his mouth. He whistled as loud as his lungs allowed him to. His safety was top priority now. Jean could take care of himself out here but he was at disadvantage. He repeated the motion again and again, watching carefully for any change in the desolated landscape.

_Come on please, let there be a horse nearby._

To his surprise, and absolute relief, one came trotting to him after the fifth whistle and it was no stranger either. He recognized the horse as Armin’s loyal companion, Buchwald.

 

_No…_

 

Did that mean that Armin hadn’t made it? No, no Armin had to take care of Fritz. He couldn’t be left to ride on his own with the extent of those injuries so it was most likely the blonde had gone with him using only one horse, it’s what he’d do.

He picked up his jacket but left the cape behind. It was still wet with spit and that would be hard to explain without raising suspicion.

It took him a lot longer that he thought to get down from where he was. Rock climbing, it seems was not one of his forts.

 Buchwald greeted him excitedly and with a snap on the reins and a loud “Hyah!” He started riding his way back to the Wall.

He looked back one last time to see if Jean would magically appear behind him but, much to the human’s displeasure, he was missing still. That didn’t bring Marco down though.

He’d have to come up with an excuse to his superiors as to how he had managed to escape the roaming monsters without his gear on him. There was also the fact that he’d to explain to his friends that Jean was still alive and kicking just, not in the form he’d thought he would.

He was not a good liar, never had been, and holding information like that could bring some real repercussions later, but he had to try.

_Don’t worry Jean. I’ll come back here to see you again._

This wouldn’t be the end for them. There was no doubt in his mind about that. He wasn’t sure when or how he’d managed to do it but giving up was not an option. He’d come back to look for his friend and that,

that was a _promise_.

**Author's Note:**

> Me before writting this fic: Okay, lets do something short.  
>  _ **work ends up being almost 9k**_  
> ....something _short_.  
>   
> This one is an old draft of mine (emphasis on old) and honestly, I think this was not the best but let me know what you thought?  
> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
